A Kansas man reportedly told police he attacked a woman and her newborn child with a hammer to get rid of his “homicidal thoughts.”
After being arrested, Jason Eastburn43, allegedly told Wichita police how he spent Christmas Eve looking for someone to kill.
Eastburn, who was armed with a hammer, is said to have told police that he saw a house with a driveway full of parked cars, and decided he was going to kill someone inside.
Eastburn knocked on the front door, and when the woman holding her one-month-old baby answered, he started swinging the hammer. According to the police, the woman was hit on the head repeatedly, and her head injury required surgery to close.
The baby, thankfully, was unharmed in the attack, which happened around 9:30 am
Someone inside the home called 911 about a man who was “trying to kill them.”
Police rushed to the house and arrested Eastburn, who was sitting in a park opposite the house – with a wound to the forehead.
According to the arrest affidavit shared no Us Weeklythe woman said she thought the man was trying to sell something, and when she opened the door, “the man smiled at her and said, ‘I’m going to kill you.’ Male [then] He pulled the hammer behind with his right hand and pushed it into the living room. A man hit him an unknown number of times with a hammer on the left side of his head.”
Eastburn was stopped by other people inside the house, including a 76-year-old grandmother. The deceased ran away with the baby while others fought with Eastburn, who dropped the hammer and fled to the park.
It’s unclear how Eastburn was injured, but police took him to a hospital for treatment. While they were riding in the ambulance there, Eastburn allegedly boasted to a female doctor, “I killed a woman over there,” according to the affidavit. He later repeated that when he was questioned by the police.
Jason said [an officer] “he wanted to kill someone in a crowded home, and he believed that this home suited his needs,” the affidavit reads.
Eastburn also explained to police that the weapon he used to attack the woman had a “sensitive” value, as the hammer belonged to his late father.
He is said to have told the police that he found the hammer and his father’s house, and that being alone in it “awakens” him emotionally. Eastburn also admitted that he had a mental illness and was not taking any medication.
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“Jason said he knew what he did was wrong, and he was embarrassed and ashamed of his actions,” the affidavit reads, and Eastburn allegedly told investigators it was his intention to kill the woman who answered the door. “He said he had suicidal thoughts for a long time and talked about stories from his childhood. Jason said he wanted to stop the violence in his family. He was relieved to be in a place where he wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
Eastburn was charged with first-degree attempted murder, aggravated battery and child endangerment, among other charges. He is being held on a $2 million bond, and information about his attorney — who is believed to have one — was not available at press time.
